The Ghost Story
by mystajia79
Summary: This is an exerpt from a book I am writing. It's about 40,000 words in at this point. I would love constructive criticism! Thanks for reading:)


Gabe and Nate didn't take as long as I expected them to. They were back and had a fire going before we froze. The light flickered in the darkness, and the sound of the waves kissing the shore was as calming as a lullaby. The leaves whistled in the soft breeze, but I didn't hear any animals scurrying about. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"So, who's going to start?" Becca asked impatiently.

"Start what?" Gabe questioned. I keep forgetting that this is his first trip with us. Most of the time it feels like he has been a part of our little group forever. It's hard to think of what life was like without him even though it was only a couple of months ago.

"Ghost stories." Even though I knew it was childish, it was something we always did when we camped out in the backyard or built forts in the living room. We always had a contest to see who could scare the others the most. I always won. We looked back and forth to see who would take the plunge first, and to my surprise, Gabe volunteered.

"If you all don't mind, that is."

"Not at all, my man. It'll be good to hear a new story." As if on cue, the flames in the fire crackled and cast a perfect shadow over half of Gabe's face as he began.

"A long time ago," Gabe began.

"Please don't tell me the next words are 'In a galaxy far, far away,'" Nate interrupted. He laughed at his own lame joke, but me and Becca just rolled our eyes.

"No," Gabe replied firmly. "Though Star Wars was a great trilogy. The original ones, anyways." He took a breath and began again. "A long time ago, there was a girl and a boy who loved each other very much."

"Great, a love story," Nate mocked.

"Shut up, Nate," Becca said as she punched him in the arm. "Let him tell his story." An evil smile played at the corner of Gabe's lips.

"Every true horror in the world begins with ill fated love, Nate." That shut him up. "Anyways, like the story of _Romeo and Juliet, _this girl and this boy were not meant to be together. She was the daughter of one of the most powerful witches in her coven, and he was nephilim. Though her coven was not known to practice dark magic, they were still avoided by many of the villagers. He, on the other hand, was revered. Even though many of the nephilim were feared, Joshua was known for his acts of kindness and selflessness. He possessed many of the traits the villagers viewed as holy while still being human enough to relate to."

"Wait a minute. Are you telling me that neph..whatever and witches are real?"

"Shut up, Nate!" Becca and I both hollered in unison.

"Nephilim. And yes, quite real. The two would sneak off to a small river that ran through the village after everyone had gone to sleep. One night, Maggie confessed that she was carrying Joshua's child. They planned to leave together the following evening, but as they parted, she was taken by the priest."

"Why didn't she just say 'Abracadabra' and poof, be gone?"

"The priest was smart. He captured her using cuffs with the devil's mark. How he can to possess them, no one knows. It didn't take him long to stage a setting that proved Maggie had been performing dark magic. She was sentenced to death, but Joshua was able to play on the villager's mercy when he revealed she was pregnant. They agreed to postpone the execution until the baby was born, even though the priest warned them that the child would be even more powerful than her mother.

Joshua visited Maggie every day. Nobody knew what went on in her cell, but moments after their baby was born, Joshua took her and disappeared. Maggie was stoned to death later that evening. And the priest than condemned her, he died that night, as well."

"How?" I knew I shouldn't interrupt, but I had to know.

"No one knows for sure. Most say that he died of a heart attack, but others swear he burned from the inside out. That his blood boiled from within, suffocating all of the oxygen in his body."

"What happened to Joshua and the baby?" Becca asked, wide eyed.

"They were never heard from again. Some say they perished while others believed that Maggie cast an immortality spell. Nephilim are immortal anyways, but she wasn't sure about the baby since she was three quarters human. The priest's son believed they were alive. He spent the rest of his days hunting them, as well as his children and his children's children."

"But why?"

"Ah, that is the question. Because this child had both witch, which at the time was associated with the devil, and angel blood in her veins, she was believed to have the power to overthrow the world as we know it. She was not good or evil, but a combination of both, and unpredictability was something to be feared. There was the chance that she could do great good, but also the possibility that she would bring about the end of the world."

"And they were never found? Joshua and the baby?"

"No. Some say that her bloodline continues still, along with that of the priest. The legend says that there can never be peace until one of them is wiped out completely."

None of us knew what to say. The story was real enough that it made me think, but too far out of reality to totally buy into. What if supernatural beings really did exist? What if there was something greater than what we know?

"Wow," Becca finally managed. "Just, wow."

I couldn't read Gabe's expression. It was like he had become absorbed in the story he was telling. Like he was part of it. Then he broke into a grin.

"That's how the story goes, anyways."

"So, let me get this straight. A witch chick hooks up with a nephilim; what is that by the way?" Nate questioned.

"A nephilim is a child born of a human and an angel."

"How's that even possible?"

"Do you need it spelled out for you, Nate?" Becca asked sarcastically.

"Not the logistics of it, no, but thanks for your concern, Bec. The practicality of it. Aren't angels supposed to be, I don't know, heavenly creatures that are above lust and stuff? Aren't they supposed to protect humans?"

I could tell Becca was about to make a smart remark, but Gabe stopped her. To be honest, I was kind of wondering the same thing.

"In theory, yes. Angels were created to be the protectors of this world, and most fulfilled their roles dutifully. There were some, however, that desired what humans had. Free will and the ability to love. Some of those chose to take human lovers."

I had heard this somewhere before. "That's how they fell, right?"

Gabe's attention shifted to me. I wasn't sure if he was shocked or impressed that I was able to follow his story.

"That's exactly right. Once the angels chose selfishness over their loyalty to the human race, they fell, as you put it. Their essence turned dark, and many believe that this is how the most powerful demons came to be."

"Seems like a pretty harsh punishment for someone who just wanted to get some. Can't really say I blame them."

I swear, sometimes I wondered how Becca put up with Nate. Then again, he had been this way as long as we had known him. Gabe just laughed.

"I agree. Especially with the ladies we have." With that, Gabe pulled me toward him. I was so caught off guard that I landed rather ungracefully onto his lap. Gabe just smiled as he brushed a stray strand of hair from my face. "You're definitely worth falling for," he whispered in my ear. "Even if it would bring about the end of the world."

There was nothing I could say to that, so I didn't try. I lifted my head and kissed Gabe, softly at first, but it didn't take long for the gentle kiss to turn into something much more intense. I forgot where I was as his words rang in my ears. What had I possibly done right to have Gabe?

"I think that's our cue," I vaguely heard Becca say to Nate. Normally I would have blushed and pulled away, but I didn't care who was there. We could have had an entire audience telling us to get a room and I honestly don't think I would have the will to break our embrace. I shifted in his lap so that I was straddling him and ran my fingers through his hair. I heard his soft gasp as I nibbled on his bottom lip. The fire behind us was hot on my back, but it was nothing compared to the fire that was burning inside of me, threatening to consume every inch of my body. I felt his hands slip under my shirt, and shivers ran through me as his hand ran up and down my back. For the first time in my life, I knew what it felt like to be consumed by another person. Then he stopped.

"Lexi," he whispered. "I love you."

"I love you, too," I said, but I was confused. Why was he pulling back? Where our bodies had been on fire seconds before, there was now ice. "Is everything okay?" I wasn't really sure I wanted to know, but being clueless was worse.

"It's perfect," he replied as he brushed a loose strand of hair from my face. The way he looked at me told me he loved me, but then why had he stopped? If I was smart, I would have let it go. I would have snuggled into him and been grateful for this wonderful man that was mine, but I had always been one that would rather know the whole truth, even if it hurt, than partial truths, so I pushed the subject.

"Then why did you stop?"

"I thought we talked about this. I thought we said we were going to wait." That conversation seemed like a million years ago. I mean, yeah, we had had that conversation, but weren't teenagers known to be impulsive? Part of me was so embarrassed that I wanted to crawl under a rock and die. I shifted into a less compromising position and refused to look him in the eyes. "Lexi," he began as he gently turned my face to his. "I love you and I want you in every way possible. You are one of the most important people in my life, and I would never want to do anything compromise what we have. When we do decide to, you know, cross that line, I just want it to be perfect."

If I didn't know better, I would swear Gabe was blushing. As beautiful as his speech was, he didn't

seem a hundred percent confident. It was strange. This was the first time I could remember Gabe being at a loss for words. His words were typically so elegant it seemed as if he belonged in another time, but this time, he was clearly out of his element.

"I used to think so too, before I met you. I had the perfect setting, the perfect mood picked out in my head. I had played it over and over a million times, but there was one thing missing. One piece that kept it from being complete. You." I stopped to look at Gabe and see if I could read his expression. It was one of complete adoration. "When I met you, I realized that where or when it happened didn't matter. What matters is who you're with, and you're the only person I want. None of the rest of it matters. As long as I'm with you, it will be perfect." I leaned back to let what I said sink in. I wasn't sure until that moment that I meant it, but as the words tumbled out of my mouth, I knew they were true. This was the type of love that people died for.

I don't know what I expected, maybe to be swept off my feet and taken right then and there, but Gabe was much simpler. He wrapped me in his arms and held me. It was a simple gesture, one that wasn't new, but the intimacy of the moment was more pronounced than any physical bond we could have shared. It was like our souls were merging into one.

"You are the most amazing person I have ever met, Lexi," he whispered into my ear. "The first time I saw you, I knew you were special, but you surprise me more and more every day. You've changed me – changed me in a way that I didn't think was possible. You are the light in my darkness, and there is nothing I wouldn't do for you."

Now it was my turn to be left speechless. His eyes bore into mine as if he could see my soul, as if he could see the most vurnable parts of me. I hated being vurnable, so an instinctive part of me wanted to pull away, but the conviction in his voice kept me from doing so. Instead, I pulled him toward me.

"I love you," I whispered. Those three words weren't anywhere near enough to convey what I was feeling, but I couldn't think of anything else. Gabe just smiled, and as his lips found mine, I let myself get lost in the possibility of forever.


End file.
